Like Crash Davis said in the movie Bull Durham, “we’re dealing with a lot of shit.”
An unprecedented virus is still sweeping across the world turning face masks into fashion accessories & normalizing phrases like “social distancing”. The number of lives it’s so selfishly taking from us keeps skyrocketing. And as much as the quarantines have helped slow the spread, it’s also having a devastating impact on our economy. The political discourse surrounding this pandemic is dumbfounding and heartbreaking. It seems like we should all be on the same side. But there are no easy answers. It can be frightening.
Police brutality, the subsequent protests, and the nation’s response to both have reignited the Black Lives Matter conversation – and rightfully so. Unfortunately, while the voices might be being heard, they’re not necessarily being listened to – there is a difference – which results in the need for those voices to get louder and louder. It seems like most people are simply missing the point, and focusing on some of the symptoms instead of addressing the disease that's causing them. Change needs to happen, but it can be frightening.
Meanwhile, June is also LGBT Pride Month, which celebrates another group of people who have historically been oppressed and smothered in guilt, shame, and fear simply because of how they were born. It has always been an easy event for many people to ignore, and this year it seems to be overshadowed even more than usual. For my friends and loved ones dealing with that stigma every day of their lives, I know how frightening it can be.
Even more fear creeps in when we decide that it’s time to stand up for what we believe is right – or speak out against the things we believe are wrong. No matter what position you take, there are always people in your life who take the opposite. Saying anything can often spark political or religious arguments that can escalate quickly and result in violent anger, hurt feelings, depression, and estrangement.
It’s exhausting. It’s discouraging. It’s frightening.
One of my all-time favorite children’s books combines a poem by the incomparable Maya Angelou and some incredibly stirring paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat titled Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. It’s one of those works of art that is written for kids, but reading it as an adult can be an emotional punch to the gut. It doesn’t deny the fact that there are things in this world to be frightened of, but it celebrates the life-affirming power of standing up to that fear.
Now is the time to stand up to that fear.
1) I wear a mask in public and adhere to social distancing guidelines without complaining, not to protect myself, but because I care about you. I am not willing to sacrifice any of the people I love to a terribly contagious virus for any reason – especially a self-serving political one. 2) Black Lives Matter – they really do – and I will stand or kneel with my black brothers and sisters until their voices are heard because I love them, and they deserve the right to feel safe – always and everywhere. 3) I will love and support the gay and trans people in my life because they deserve the same rights as everyone else. And they shouldn’t have to be afraid simply for being who they are. Love is love.
And life shouldn’t frighten anyone.
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
(Isaiah 41:10 ESV)